LYNCHBURG, Va. – The UNC Asheville men’s and women’s track and field teams began competition at the Big South Conference Championships at the Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex on the campus of Liberty University Thursday.

Highlighting the day was Kurt Hibert in the hammer throw. Hibert just missed setting a school record but still had a great throw at 56.05 meters. The throw was good enough for Hibert to earn a spot on the podium as he finished in third place and earned All-Conference honors.

John Bellard continued his good work in the javelin this year. He took seventh with a throw of 54.89 meters.

On the women’s side, Asheville had two runners earn points in the 10,000 meters. Adrian Etheridge finished seventh with a time of 38:13, while Melanie Kulesz took eighth at 38:24.

Action on Friday begins at 9 a.m. with the women’s javelin competition.